Walmart and Target take aim at Prime Day

Bed Bath & Beyond auction cancelled, Canadian port strikes, and more in this week's roundup ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Welcome to this week’s Retailist Roundup, your destination for up-to-the-minute news, job openings, and updates in ecommerce, retail, and DTC brands, handpicked by our expert editors.

We've curated the most influential headlines, cutting-edge trends, and daring forecasts from retail leaders worldwide. Let's jump right in and explore what grabbed our attention this week:

New from Retailist

Slow Fashion: A Lesson in Sustainability from the World of Luxury Brands

Luxury brands are beginning to embrace “circular fashion” by repairing, revalorizing and revitalizing products, as well as offering secondhand sales and rental services.

RFID in the Warehouse: Driving Fulfilment Efficiency at Every Opportunity

By implementing item-level RFID, retailers can significantly improve their ability to track and manage inventory throughout the supply chain

In the News: This week’s top headlines

Prime Day 2023. Analysts are projecting that this year's Prime Day sales event will generate $12 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) for Amazon in the U.S., an increase of 12% YoY. [Reuters]

Target, Walmart, & Best Buy stealing Amazon’s thunder? Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are competing with Amazon's Prime Day by running their own sales in July. Walmart's first-ever "Walmart+ Week" ran from July 10-13, providing exclusive offers to members, and Best Buy's "Black Friday in July" ran from July 10-12 with unique deals for their membership holders. Target has also announced a simultaneous sale, positioning these retailers to attract customers during Amazon's Prime Day event, which ran from July 11-12. [Retail Dive]

Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy deal collapses; all Buybuy Baby stores to close. Buybuy Baby, a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond, is set to shutter all its physical stores. This decision comes after Bed Bath & Beyond’s debtors called off an auction of BuyBuy Baby’s entire business. BuyBuy Baby’s intellectual property was sold for $15.5 million to Dream on Me Industries, but this deal didn't encompass the chain's 120 physical locations. [CBS]

Apple launches online store on China's WeChat messaging app. This is a major move for Apple, as it gives the company a way to reach more Chinese consumers. Users in China can now purchase the full line of Apple products including the latest iPhone 14 range. WeChat is one of the most popular social media platforms in China, with over 1.2 billion active users. [CNBC]

Canadian port strike causes concern over price hikes, delays. As a workers' strike at major West Coast Canadian ports enters its 10th day, trade associations in the U.S. and Canada warn of potential price hikes and significant delays in product arrivals. Given that 20% of U.S. trade, amounting to approximately $572 million in container trade daily, arrives through these Canadian ports, the prolonged strike is threatening the historically robust trade relationship between the two countries. [CNBC]

Retail defaults set to jump this year. Moody's Investors Service is forecasting that retail defaults will jump this year. Over the next 12 months, Moody’s expects defaults among retail and apparel to jump from 6% to 8.6%. The ratings agency says that the increase in defaults will be driven by a number of factors, including elevated product, labor and freight costs; higher markdowns; and weakening consumer spending. [Retail Dive]

Designer Brands names DSW president. Designer Brands, has named Laura Denk President of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and EVP of Designer Brands. Denk was most recently the Chief Merchandising Officer at Michaels Stores, and also has held leadership positions at Claire’s and Macy’s. [Retail Touchpoints]

Il Makiage parent company aims for $1.7B valuation in IPO. Oddity, parent company of DTC cosmetics brand Il Makiage, has announced plans to go public. [Retail Dive]

👉Job Board: This week’s Top Openings in DTC, RetailTech, and more

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